The decision to retire from his third Vendee Globe, brings to an end a long saga which began in the Auckland Islands when he stopped to effect repairs and was DSQ'd by the International Jury for receiving outside assistance, albeit inadvertently, from a Russian marine research ship.

He then headed for the New Zealand coast where he was able to effect proper repairs before leaving 3,500nm behind the race leaders, in a race he led in the early stages.

Sailing through the Southern Ocean he damaged one of his hydrogenerators, which reduced his ability to generate power for the boat, to the point where he needed to take on diesel fuel, arrangements were made for that to happen, however he elected to retire from the single-handed round the world non-stop race, being sailed in Open 60 class yachts.

In a story published on the respected European website www.vsail.info it was claimed that Stamm had fitted the hydrogenerators (used to generate energy via a low drag boat speed driven turbine, attached to the boat's stern and immersed in the water) against manufacturers instructions, and that they were fixed, and unable to be flipped away if they struck an object in the water.